History

Celtics Legends

If you're looking for the legends of the game then you need to look no further than the Boston Celtics. The Green and White is home to some of the greatest players to ever lace up a pair of sneakers and the greatest coaches to ever blow a whistle. Ranging from Arnold "Red" Auerbach to JoJo White, the Celtics have celebrated 16 World Championships, have 31 Hall-of-Famers and after most recently raising #31 for Cedric Maxwell, 22 retired numbers.

The long line of legends began when original owner Walter Brown hired Red Auerbach to coach the Celtics in 1950. Coach Auerbach began assembling a championship caliber roster adding Bob Cousy, Bill Russell, Tommy Heinsohn and later John Havlicek, to name a few. As coach of the Celtics, Auerbach went on to win a record nine NBA Championships, including a record eight in a row from 1959-1966.

After moving solely to the front office in 1966, Auerbach handed the coaching reigns over to Russell then Heinsohn, each of whom won two championships at the helm while Auerbach restructured the roster.

In assembling the Celtics second championship run, Auerbach added legends such as Dave Cowens and JoJo White.

Following a few down years in the late 70's, Auerbach restocked the Celtics with a group of legends for the third time. He assembled what is thought by many to be the greatest frontline of all-time when he drafted Larry Bird in 1978, and in 1980 traded for Robert Parish and drafted Kevin McHale. This core group of Hall-of-Famers went on to win three more championships in the 1980's.

When the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary by unveiling the 50 Greatest Players in NBA history, in 1996-97, 13 were former members of the Boston Celtics. The 13 combined for 42 NBA Championships with the Celtics, 10 MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards and three Rookie of the Year awards, proving the Boston Celtics to be one of the most legendary franchises in all of sports.